Wikipedia:Deletion review/Log/2008 October 12

Main Characters

Alex

Madagascar character
Alex
Species:	African Lion
Eyes:	Blue
Fur:	Tan, with light tan underbelly and brown mane
Voiced by:	Ben Stiller

Alex was a lion featured as a main attraction at the Central Park Zoo. He enjoys being the main attraction of the zoo and featured heavily in merchandise and infatuated with steak, but sees his friends as the most important things in his life.

Alex was the main attraction of the Central Park Zoo, and best friends with Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe, and Gloria the Hippopotamus, all of which lived comfortably in a life of star treatment. On Marty's birthday, Alex stopped by Marty's enclosure with a snow-globe which led to Marty telling Alex that life in the zoo was proving to be tedious, always standing in this place or that, eating grass and doing nothing. With that, Alex told Marty that he must break out of that routine and try something more lively. Later that night, Alex, Melman, and Gloria attended Marty's birthday party, where Marty divulged his wish: to return to the wild, at least for a short time. Alex told Marty that the wish was folly and that life outside the zoo was painful and grueling. Marty acted convinced, with Alex being fooled, until later that very night, Marty escaped the zoo and headed downtown to the Grand Central Terminal, so as to head for Connecticut and wide open spaces. Alex fearfully knew that if the humans found Marty escaping, they would have him transferred. With that, Gloria, Melman, and himself left the zoo, find Marty, and bring him back with no-one being the wiser. The plan had almost worked, but once they had recovered Marty at Grand Central Station they were found by the humans, along with a troop of penguins trying to escape and a pair of chimpanzees going out for a romp around the town. All the animals of the zoo were tranquilised and put in crates headed straight for Africa and a wildlife preserve.

The time in the crates did little to improve Alex, who now had a great anger towards Marty, whom he blamed for trying to escape. Gloria also blamed Marty to. Melman tried to sort out this debacle, but harsh words betwixt Alex and Marty led to the two pushing and shoving their crates against one another in anger, which led to the chains holding the crates outside to break. With that, the crates containing Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman slid into the sea. The next day, Alex regrouped with the others and admitted that he did not know where they were, until Melman suggested that they had made it to the San Diego Zoo. Alex was now even more upset with Marty and chased him around claiming he's going to clone Marty then kill all his clones, until Gloria intervened and after hearing some music far off in the jungles beside the beach, the four began to run deeper and deeper into the jungle to find where the music was coming from, thinking it to be humans having a party. As Gloria, Melman, and Marty ran into the forest, Alex strayed behind them, trying hard to catch up and all the while being hit by branches, stepping on thorns, and having trees fall on him. When Alex finally caught up, he stumbled upon the scene of a group of fossa on the verge of devouring a helpless lemur (who had interrupted the party of a tribe of lemurs) and was about to ask for the administrative offices (thinking their location to be the San Diego Zoo), but Alex felt a crawling feeling on his back, revealing a great spider (who amicably said hello), which Alex knocked off, screaming. Alex's screaming frightened the fossa away and when Gloria, Melman, and Marty rushed to him to hit the spider, the lemurs (who were witnessing the entire exchange in hiding) came out, with their King Julian making his presence known. King Julian thanked Alex and the other "giants" for their frightening the fossa off and invited them all to stay, but when Alex discovered that they were in a human-less jungle, he ran off in great haste for the beaches, insisting that he could swim to civilisation. With time, Alex and the others decided to make settlement on the beaches, with Marty having much more success. Alex tried to make a replica of the Statue of Liberty to bring the humans over, but it was burned down in an accident. Alex's last ditch effort was to spell HELP only for the P to fall to pieces forming another L which made HELL which comically shows Alex's feelings on the matter. Alex had to concede to Marty's efforts and spent the night in Marty's shelter. While there, Alex and the others dined on a meal of seaweed (which Alex found unpalatable, preferring a steak) and spending the night beneath the stars. While the four slept, Alex dreamed of steaks and awoke to find himself licking Marty's side in his sleep. The lemur tribe was again spying on the whole situation after deciding to make the newcomers welcome and want to stay, providing a reason for fossa to stay away. An older lemur Maurice was the sole skeptic of this plan.

When they woke, Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman all found themselves in the lemurs' hollow. King Julian then put his plan into effect by providing them all with a jungle paradise, which they enjoyed until Alex lost his mind while performing his roaring routine and bit Marty on the hindquarters. At that point, Maurice explained that Alex could not be among other animals, being a carnivore, and that Alex must leave for the carnivore side of the island and not come back. Alex paid no heed and continued to chase Marty in a hungry trance. When he regained consciousness, Alex felt great remorse for his actions and ran off eventually imprisoning himself so he would never harm anyone else. Marty felt that it was his fault that Alex was not himself and admitted that he felt guilty. Almost at once, the very ship that the four animals had fallen from had come back, with the penguins at the helm. At once, Marty rushed off to find Alex and straighten him out. When he did, Alex insisted that Marty leave him, because there was no hope for him, and saw not his best friend, but a meal. Marty was then attacked and chased by the fossa, who were looking for a meal. As Melman came onto the scene rescuing Marty, Gloria and the penguins set a distraction for the fossa. At that moment, Alex came on the scene, acting the part of a savage meat-eater and getting the others to play along. While Alex frightened all of the fossa into believing that he was a killer, the others made their efforts to fight the fossa off. Alex then warned all of the fossa to leave and never come back. The plan had worked and Alex was once again with his friends.

It was then that Alex was given an alternative to steak, slices of fish prepared by one of the penguins and Alex was commended by King Julian, along with the others, for ridding them all of the fossa presence. King Julian even gave Alex his crown as a gift, claiming an ever bigger, flashier one with a gecko named Stevie on it. Alex and the other four then decided to leave the island and head back to New York, interested in doing a little travelling around the world first, blissfully unaware that the ship was out of gas.

Marty

Madagascar character
Marty
Species:	Zebra
Eyes:	Green
Fur:	Black and white striped
Voiced by:	Chris Rock
Age:	10

Marty was a zebra which resided at the Central Park Zoo, and a good friend of Alex the Lion.

In the beginning, Marty lived a life of comfort in the zoo, but comfort led to boredom and Marty soon saw that his tenth birthday came and went and with that, his life was halfway in. Marty decided, then, that he must travel to the wild, for at least a short time, never having seen the wild.

At one point in the movie, Alex says he's black with white stripes, as he has 30 black, and only 29 white.

The film begins on Marty's 10th birthday (middle-aged for a zebra). His friends try to give him a great birthday, but somehow, Marty wants more. He escapes the Central Park Zoo, in which he lives, and makes a dash for the wild. His friends, Alex the Lion, Melman the Giraffe and Gloria the Hippopotamus flag him down, but as they're about to take him back to the zoo, police officers appear in all directions, tranquilize the animals, and send them on a ship to Kenya. However, the penguins take over the ship and the four friends are washed up on the shores of Madagascar.

Once on the island, the animals begin to panic except for Marty, who has had his dream fulfilled. Marty sets up a "bar" on the island, known as Casa del Wild (in English Home of the Wild). Alex is mad at Marty for getting them shipped to the wild, but he later apologizes to Marty and actually begins to enjoy himself on the island. Unfortunately, his enjoyment brings on his killer instincts, causing him to attack the resident lemurs and his friends, including Marty. Alex doesn't "go savage" for long, and is later able to rejoin his friends as they head back to the zoo.

Marty, along with his friends has only a few small cameos in The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper. He, Alex, and Gloria are seen at the beginning decorating Melman's neck with Christmas lights. At the end, he, his friends, and almost all the other zoo animals are seen singing their own version of "Jingle Bells".

Melman Mankiewicz III

Madagascar character
Melman Mankowicz III
Species:	Giraffe
Eyes:	Hazel
Fur:	Canary yellow with dark brown spots
Voiced by:	David Schwimmer

Melman Mankiewicz III is a fictional anthropomorphic giraffe, who appears in the 2005 DreamWorks film, Madagascar. He is somewhat of a hypochondriac, having doses of medicine for meals and doctor's appointments frequently. He even complains about having spots on his neck. He is played by David Schwimmer.

Melman had a residence at the Central Park Zoo, where he would receive constant medical treatment for problems that, oddly enough, were all a figment of his imagination. Melman would undergo MRI's, CAT scans, injections, and be put into braces and crutches for no particular purpose at all. In the Central Park Zoo, Melman received treatment, and was so used to his cushy life taking pills and undergoing treatments. One night, however, Marty the Zebra escaped and Melman immediately informed Alex of this. In Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, he reveals that he is in love with Gloria.

Gloria

Madagascar character
Gloria
Species:	Hippopotamus
Eyes:	Dark brown
Skin:	Medium Brown
Voiced by:	Jada Pinkett Smith (Speaking) Jewel (Singing) (Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa only)

Gloria was a hippopotamus that resided in the Central Park Zoo as an attraction, all the while being good friends with Alex, Marty, and Melman.

Gloria, of the four, was the most practical and calm. As a hippopotamus, Gloria had a passive nature when it came to most problems, and served as the voice of reason for her friends. At the time of Marty the zebra's birthday, Gloria was another animal in the Central Park Zoo and was one of the many attractions, drawing crowds that enjoyed seeing her swim about in her water tank. She would also receive the star treatment as one of the zoo's main attractions and attend Marty's birthday party. At this party, Marty announced his wish upon blowing out the candles on his cake: to go to the wild. Gloria, Alex and Melman tried to have Marty come to his senses by telling him that life out in the wilds was savage and difficult, whereas life in the zoos was adequate. Marty was unhappy at hearing this and gloria told Alex to go and console Marty. Later that night, however, Marty acted out his wish and headed straight for the Terminal Station so as to take a train and go to Connecticut, where Marty heard that wide open spaces were found. Gloria urged both Alex and Melman to come with her so as to find Marty and bring him back before any people would notice. They were found, regardless, alongside Mason and Phil, the two chimps; and a troupe of secretive penguins, all ending up tranquilised with darts.

When they all came to, they found themselves in crates bound for Africa. In Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Gloria sings "I Do" to Alex.

Supporting Characters

Skipper

Madagascar character
Skipper
Species:	Penguin
Eyes:	Blue
Feathers:	Black with white underbelly
Voiced by:	Tom McGrath

Skipper was the leader of a band of penguins bent on a secret agenda of escaping the confines of the zoo and being free in Antarctica.

As leader, Skipper was the mastermind behind a plot to escape the confines of the zoo and leave for Antarctica with three other penguins as his accomplices. As it were, Skipper and his troupe of penguins dug and dug under their enclosure until they reached the enclosure of Marty the zebra, thinking it to be the South Pole. Skipper explained to Marty that they would escape the zoo on the grounds that penguins don't belong in captivity and with that, ordered his accomplices to continue tunneling. Late that night, Skipper and the other penguins were caught by a SWAT team, as were six other animals also found outside the zoo. The penguins were tranquilised and put into a crate to be transferred.

When they awoke, Skipper was confused at the lettering on the crate where they were held and ordered a nearby chimpanzee named Mason to read it, with Mason's companion Phil reading it: they were all bound for a wildlife preserve in Africa. Skipper ordered Rico, another penguin to open the lock on the crate where they were held, whereupon the four penguins knocked out the crew and took command of the ship, commandeering it to reach Antarctica. Skipper and his mates finally reached Antarctica and were sorely disappointed by the barren, desolate terrain.

Skipper had the ship return quickly from the South Pole where it crashed into the beaches of Madagascar and a much warmer climate. Upon arriving, he and the other three encountered Gloria and Melman, and saw that Alex and Marty (known as their "monochromatic friend") were gone. Skipper decided to help rescue Marty from the grim fate of being eaten by the native fossa. (Possibly as gratitude for his silence regarding the escape.) It was Skipper who helped to distract the fossa while Marty was recovered and then helped fight off a number of them.

Skipper noticed later on that Alex was still hungry, not being able to eat steak, and had Rico prepare fresh slices of fish in the form of sushi for Alex. Skipper then relinquished control of the ship to Alex, as he no longer needed it, and proceeded to sunbathe on the tropical beaches in comfort. Skipper was asked by Private, one of his accomplices, if they should tell Alex and his friends that the ship was out of gas. Skipper declined, telling his troupe to "just smile and wave".

Kowalski

Madagascar character
Kowalski
Species:	Penguin
Eyes:	Brown
Feathers:	Black with white underbelly
Voiced by:	Chris Miller

The smartest and tallest of the penguins, Kowalski formed plans for the group and usually took notes for Skipper.

Kowalski was part of a cadre of devious penguins who had made it their goal to escape captivity in the Central Park Zoo and leave for Antarctica. Often formulating plans for the group, Kowalski was a loyal supporter of his leader, Skipper. Kowalski had escaped the zoo with the other penguins, but was promptly captured and put into a crate for transferring with his comrades. The crates were all placed on a ship bound for Africa, where all the creatures from the zoo would be kept in a wildlife preserve. While in the crate, Kowalski confessed that he could not read and assisted another transferee, a chimpanzee named Phil, to read the words on the crate. As soon as this was done, the four penguins headed to the ship's bridge, knocked out the crew and captain, bound them up, and plotted the ship's course to Antarctica.

Once they began to come closer Antarctica, the four celebrated their successful mission and left the ship. When they left, they saw that Antarctica was not all that they thought it would be. With this in sight, the penguin troop headed north to warmer climates, on the beaches of Madagascar. On these beaches, they encountered Gloria the hippopotamus and Melman the giraffe, but their friend Marty the zebra was nowhere to be found, having run off to a side of Madagascar inhabited by predators so as to find his friend, Alex the lion. Skipper formulated a plan to save Marty's life, which Kowalski helped to undertake. After a skirmish with some of the local meat-eaters, the penguins had reached the decision to stay in Madagascar for good, giving the ship over to Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman. The ship was devoid of gas.

Private

Madagascar character
Private
Species:	Penguin
Eyes:	Blue
Feathers:	Black with white underbelly
Voiced by:	Christopher Knights

Private was one of the penguins at the Central Park Zoo.

Private helped to orchestrate the escape to the wild.

Rico

Madagascar character
Rico
Species:	Penguin
Eyes:	Black
Feathers:	Back with white underbelly
Voiced by:	John DiMaggio

Rico was one of the four penguins that attempted to escape the Central Park Zoo. Rico was an operative that followed Skipper's orders without fail, proving his loyalty by going on missions that required skill, such as stealing an ice cream spoon from a visiting child and expelling a paper clip from his stomach. The latter talent proved effective when the four penguins were encased in a crate and sent off to a wildlife preserve. It was Rico that made possible their escape by spewing out a paper clip and using it to pick the lock. It was also Rico that acted as a chef for Alex the lion when he required a meal: Rico prepared his specialty: tuna sashimi. He likes explosives.

Mason

Madagascar character
Mason
Species:	Chimpanzee
Eyes:	Brown
Fur:	Dark Brown
Voiced by:	Conrad Vernon

Mason and Phil are the sophisticated chimpanzees at the Central Park Zoo, preferring to "read" the newspaper and enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning; for them, freedom means attending a Tom Wolfe lecture to "fling poo at him." Mason (voiced by Conrad Vernon) speaks with an RP accent and plans the daily affairs for Phil and himself, but is unable to read. He is named for James Mason, whose voice inspired the character's portrayal. Phil doesn't speak, making him initially seem less intelligent and more primitive than his comrade, but can read English and "speaks" American Sign Language which instills the idea that Phil is perhaps the more cerebral of the two. Both escape from the zoo in the beginning of the movie. They are also sent to the wildlife reserve along with the main characters. Unlike the main characters, they don't wash up on the shores of Madagascar, however they do appear in the background of the final scene in crates. They raid a wastebasket for leftover coffee and a newspaper, and their crate on the ship is full of aluminum cans (in the DVD, it is indicated that they contain root beer, not beer, likely implemented in order to make the film more family-friendly).
According to a May 26, 2005 interview with Director Tom McGrath in the Seattle Post Intelligencer [1], the chimp's "first scene was just deciphering the code on the shipping label. We got this girl who knew American Sign Language. We wanted (the gestures) to be really frenetic so he signed out, 'Tell the tiny pea-brained birds that the sign reads: Ship to ...' and it gave us enough hand gestures. Then we went back to 'I see that Tom Wolfe is speaking at Lincoln Center,' and he gestured, 'Can we throw our poo at his stupid white suit?'"

Phil

Madagascar character
Phil
Species:	Chimpanzee
Eyes:	Brown
Fur:	Dark brown

Phil is the chimpanzee who is with Mason and speaks with American Sign Language.

Phil was Mason's friend and shared an enclosure with Mason; Phil seemed to be the more slovenly of the two, sleeping in at the zoo's daily opening time and having somewhat offensive body odour. Mason and Phil also had qualities which seemed to match each other's needs: while Phil could read, Mason could not and while Mason would speak, Phil was either mute or chose not to speak. One night, when several other residents of the zoo were escaping, Mason and Phil took it upon themselves to escape as well, at least for a moment, to see Tom Wolfe speaking at Lincoln Centre and for Phil to fling dung at Tom Wolfe's suit. They did not meet this end and were caught by law enforcement officers, with Phil being told by Mason to fling whatever dung he might have. After that, Mason and Phil were put into crates just like all the other animals in the zoo and Phil had gone to pot just as he had in the zoo, drinking innumerable amounts of canned root beer daily and littering his area with the cans.

Other Animals from the Zoo

Darnell

Madagascar character
Darnell
Species:	Asian Elephant
Eyes:	Black
Skin:	Dark grey
Voiced by:	Fred Tatasciore

Darnell is an elephant that resided in the Central Park Zoo.

Darnell had a mate that he shared an enclosure with, during the Christmas when four penguins that resided there as well escaped. Later that night, Darnell joined the penguins (along with other zoo animals) in a small Christmas party.

Ted

Madagascar character
Ted
Species:	Polar bear
Eyes:	Brown
Fur:	White
Voiced by:	Bill Faggerbakke

Ted the polar bear had lived in the Central Park Zoo like many other animals and spent his Christmases alone because he had no one to share them with. The penguin Private had noticed this and set out to get Ted a present to cheer him up. Much later, the plan had changed and Ted was soon sharing his Christmas with the penguin troupe, having invited some friends over.

Creatures from the Island

King Julien XIII

Madagascar character
King Julian
Species:	Ring-tailed Lemur
Eyes:	Brown, whites yellow
Fur:	Grey with black-striped tail
Voiced by:	Sacha Baron Cohen

Voiced by Sacha Baron Cohen. According to a May 26, 2005 interview with Director Tom McGrath in the Seattle Post Intelligencer [2], "We had this two-line character, Julian [sic], and we got a tape of the show 'Ali G' with Sacha Baron Cohen. He came in and he invented this Indian accent. We gave him a couple of lines and he turned them into eight minutes of dialogue. We were just in tears on the floor and thought, 'This guy has to be the king.' So that was just a two-line part that he invented and it turned into that role." Self-proclaimed King of the Madagascar lemurs, Julien loves to sing, dance, and be the center of attention. He uses a crown made out of leaves, and later a larger crown that features a gecko to denote his royal stature. The other lemurs hang on his every word. He is slightly deranged and overly impressed by his modest intellect. He contrives to use Alex to protect the lemurs from their natural enemy, the fossa, as long as Alex doesn't overshadow his own glory. Julien speaks with a french accent (thus the name, Julien). Also, according to the song "I like to move it, move it" King Julien XIII is about 68 years old.

Maurice

Madagascar character
Maurice
Species:	Aye-Aye Lemur
Eyes:	Brown, whites yellow
Fur:	Dark grey with white chest and face
Voiced by:	Cedric the Entertainer

Maurice lived alongside a tribe of other lemurs and witnessed newcomers to their home: a quartet of zoo animals. Maurice was skeptical of Alex, a lion among them, thinking him to be somewhat suspicious-looking. Maurice expressed this concern during a meeting of the other lemurs and animals of the jungle, but was ignored. The next day, Maurice took part in the festival in the honour of the newcomers, and shortly after explained the trouble with having Alex the lion around. He knew that Alex was a meat-eater and that he would need to eat steak. It was then that he opted for Alex to leave and go to the carnivore side of the island.

Shortly after, Maurice witnessed Gloria, Melman, and Marty working with a group of penguins overtaking the fossa that were attacking the lemur tribe. Maurice had to concur that King Julian's plan had worked and that fossa would no longer be of any worry. Maurice saw the newcomers out when they decided to leave and was obligated to wave King Julian's arm for him, as the king was tired of waving it.

Mort

Madagascar character
Mort
Species:	Goodman's Mouse Lemur
Eyes:	Black, whites yellow
Fur:	Light Brown with white underbelly
Voiced by:	Andy Richter

Mort is usually timid, but can become quite shrill and vocal when he opens up. The zoo animals find him adorable, but King Julien is highly annoyed by him, eventually shouting "Oh, shut up, you're so annoying!" in response to his inane chatter but Mort responds to this by giggling and looking flattered. In the commentary for the Film, the director mentioned that Mort was actually 35.

The Fossa

The fossas are pack-hunting predators native to Madagascar, who look like hyenas or half-cat half-dog creatures in appearance. They are the villains of the movie, and are constantly trying to kill and eat the lemurs. According to Julien, "they're always annoying us by trespassing, interrupting our parties, and ripping our limbs off". They are cowards, however, and always flee when confronted by a bigger predator, such as Alex. They also use foreign objects such as salt and pepper shakers.

Despite appearances, the pronunciation in the film ("foo-sah") is accurate, however the spelling (Foosa or Fousa) is not, as shown in one of the signs on the island.

Stevie

Madagascar character
Stevie
Species:	Ocelot Gecko
Eyes:	Black, whites green
Scales:	Orange with brown stripes

Stevie is shown towards the very end of the film. He is a leaf-tailed gecko which resides on King Julian's crown. When King Julian gives Alex the lion his crown as a parting gift, Alex declines, but the king insists, stating that he had a bigger one with the gecko named Stevie on it.

Masakuro

Madagascar character
Masakuro
Species:	Chameleon
Eyes:	Black, whites green
Scales:	Dark green

Masakuro was a chameleon that resided on Madagascar.

While he lived among birds, lemurs and many other animals in the forests, Masakuro acted as a stenographer for the meetings that took place with the lemur tribe, taking notes and blacking out that which needed to be erased with his long, sticky tongue. He also was a recruit to the penguins.

Teemo

Madagascar character
Teemo
Species:	Drouhard's Shrew Tenrec
Eyes:	Brown
Fur:	Black, with white stripes and quills

Teemo is a tenrec that lived in Madagascar either among a tribe of lemur or as a recruit to the penguins. He was present at one of their meetings and curled up into a ball like a hedgehog in fear when he had heard mention of the fossa or a fox.

In Other Media

Mr. Chew

Madagascar character
Mr. Chew
Species:	Poodle
Eyes:	Black
Fur:	White

Mr. Chew is a poodle that was fond of chewing (thus his name) up and tearing apart various items, including live victims, as Private discovered. Mr. Chew was once to receive a Christmas gift: a chew toy which turned out to be Private in disguise. He had almost mauled Private, but after a scuffle with Skipper, Private was freed and Mr. Chew blamed for the resulting melee.

Darnell

Madagascar character
Darnell
Species:	Asian Elephant
Eyes:	Black
Skin:	Dark grey
Voiced by:	Fred Tatasciore

Darnell is an elephant that resided in the Central Park Zoo.

Darnell had a mate that he shared an enclosure with, during the Christmas when four penguins that resided there as well escaped. Later that night, Darnell joined the penguins (along with other zoo animals) in a small Christmas party.